Improvement in starting engines and other machinery off their centres



@umh gisten gstmt fitte.

ALFRED SIMS, OF- NEW YORK, N. Y.

. Letters Patent No. 66,527, dated July 9, 1867.

. IMPROVEMENT IN-STARTING ENGINES AND OTHER MACHINERY OEE THEIR CENTRES.

diherlgchule tifctrcb tunitlgrst htters Tlntrut imh uniting peut uf tige snmp.

TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Be it known that I, ALFRED SIMS, ot' the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a new anrl useful Improvement in Starting Engines oiltheir Centres; and I do hereby-declare that the following is a full,

clear, and exact description thereof, 'which enables those skilled in' the artto fully understand and use the same, reference being had to the accompanyingr drawing, making a part'of this specification, in whichi Figure 1 represents la sectional side elevation of this invention.

Figure 2 is a plan or top view of the same.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding part-s.

This invention consist-s in the arrangement of a hydraulic lever, screw, or other suitable press, hung on a pivot, hinge, or swivel, or connected to a slide or other equivalent mechanism, in combination with the crank of asteam engine, in such a manner that in case said crank stops on one-of its dead-centres the press can be readily swung'or moved in working position, and by working said press the engine can be started oif its centre with little trouble or loss of time.

With large engines, such as murine engines, ithappens not unfrequently that the crank stops on one'oi` its dead-centres, and much time and labor are required to move the same from this` position by means of levers, hoisting tackles, and other deviceswhich have to be put in working position when they are required, and taken away when not needed. i Y 4 All difficulty, danger, and loss of tim'e arising from this source are avoided by. the arrangement of two presses, A A', which may be hydrauliopresses, or the operation ot' which may be made to depend upon levers, screws, or any other suitable mechanism of suiiicient power for the occasion.' These presses are hung on pivots a a', so that they can be swung out to the position occupied by the press A or hack to the positionoccupied'by the press A; or, instead of hanging them on pivots, they might be connected to a swivel, hinge, or slide, or to any other suitable mechanism, allowing them to be moved out oi' the way of the crank, or back into their working position, with ease and'acility. The position of ,the presses AAA is so selectel that the plunger or follower of one of them cai-n be brought to bear on the crank B whenever the same stops on one o f its deadcentres, and by setting the press in motion the crank lcan be readily'forced off its centre, and the engine started without loss of time.

When the presses are not required they are swung or movedout of the way of the crank, but they are always at hand; and whenever one of them is required it can be readily brought in working position and operated by one man, and theengne can be starte`d o' its centres without trouble.4

By these means not only 4much time and labor 'are saved,but in many cases,by the use of my presses, mu'ch danger to the safety of a steam vessel may be avoided, and a vessel muy be saved from destruction it' the engineer lis enabled to start his engine 0H' the centresalmost instantaneously, when a delay in starting the engine would be fatal. x

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

The presses A A', attached to the frame of a steam engine, or to any part in proximity to said engine, by pivots, swivels, hinges, or by 'movable slides, or other equivalent devices, to operate in combination with the crank B, substantially as and for the purpose described.

ALFRED SIMS.

Witnesses:

J. VAN4 SANTvooRD, W HAUFF, 

